Samuel Stipkala

A creative, challenging, and mentally stimulating experience.

For me personally, the HEC Paris Summer School programs offered the perfect opportunity to further develop my knowledge and broaden my view in something that I am truly fascinated by and interested in. This was provided by one of the top Business Schools in the world, where I chose to stay for two consecutive sessions.

My first summer session was “Investment Banking and International Finance” (IBF). It’s a perfect program for any student who already possess some basics in Corporate Finance and would like to further their knowledge in the field, or transition to a different position inside their company. The course is structured on real-life cases, where students are in a position of an Investment Banker, where they need to calculate and answer various questions related to the field. These exercises to some degree simulate the real-life working flow of an Investment Banker. As the course was taught by Professor Patrick Legland who has experience in the finance field for over 25 years, student exposure to a real-life professional provided invaluable insights in the field of IBF and methods which are the most effective in practice. In addition, the lessons are enriched by various guest speakers who told us their stories and specific approaches to their problem solving.

My second summer session was “Geopolitics, Globalization, and Business Strategy”. This course fits every student and working professional who would like to challenge their critical thinking and build up resilience into their working process. It doesn’t matter which subject you are specialised in (Economy, Mathematics, Filmography, Data Science, etc.), every field has the opportunity to benefit from the processes/tools taught, as well as create value in discussions during the classes. Furthermore, lessons are supported by interactive videos and articles, where students can add to threads and engage into discussions among themselves. Ultimately, students leave the course with reshaped thinking about problem solving, which raises the question if the course shouldn’t be renamed to “Problem Solving in the 21st Century”.

I would absolutely recommend the HEC Paris Summer School. It provides students/working professionals with important insights and knowledge in the chosen field of study, where the ceiling of knowledge provided is limited to the willingness of the student. Additionally, the staff members are friendly and kind, creating the atmosphere of home. Therefore, I can confidently say that the HEC Paris quality lives up to its reputation of being one of the best.

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